Event: Up Helly Aa

After the gut-rupturing feasting and surfeit of sherry that will inevitably be at the heart of our Christmas celebrations, it’ll be time to start planning our New Year’s shenanigans.

For my money, one of the most interesting things you can do is Up Helly Aa on Shetland. Remote, chilly and pretty tough to get to (it’s nearer to Norway than Edinburgh) Shetland isn’t the easy choice but this festival makes it well worth it. Taking place on the last Tuesday in January, it’s the largest fire festival in Europe; a scorching, boozy bonfire topped off with the incineration of a life-sized Viking galley.